"Are you... the fledgling phoenix from that day?"
Xu Ying looked at the petite girl's face. While he could not discern the features of a phoenix, her eyes were phoenix-shaped, remarkably similar to the eyes of the fledgling phoenix.
"Young master may call this humble girl Fengxian'er, or Xiao Fengxian if you prefer." Lightly tapping her toes, the petite girl walked outside and turned back to beckon him.
Xu Ying called out to Lord Bell once more, but the bronze bell still gave no response, so he leaped out through the window.
As his feet touched the ground, he felt something soft beneath him, as though he had stepped on someone. Guo Xiaodie gave a soft grunt, rolled over beneath the window, and sank back into a deep slumber.
Xu Ying jumped in surprise, thoroughly perplexed. *Why hasn't she gone back to sleep instead of being dead set on seizing my bed? Is my bedroll really that inviting?*
He shook his head and hurried to catch up with Xiao Fengxian.
The bright-eyed, fair-toothed girl chuckled softly. "That girl was drugged with stupefying powder; she won't be waking anytime soon. I came by earlier and saw someone lure away a bronze bell and a giant snake. Then I saw another woman carry this young lady over, strip her bare, put her in your bedroll, and even take her clothes away, so I didn't want to disturb you. Little did I expect that before I had walked far, I'd see you throw the young lady out. Knowing you wouldn't be able to fall asleep right away, I came over to chat."
Xu Ying said, "So that was it. I thought there weren't enough rooms on the mountain."
Xiao Fengxian burst into giggles. "You are truly a strange and amusing fellow! If I were in your place, I wouldn't have dressed the girl before tossing her out."
Xu Ying asked in confusion, "If I didn't dress her before throwing her out, what else could I have done? Besides, it's cold on the mountain. If I threw her out naked, she might have caught a chill."
Not long after, the beautiful woman Li Yingzhu crept beneath Xu Ying's window, musing, *By rights, the deed should be done by now. If I barge in now to catch them in the act and nail down what he's done, he won't be able to talk his way out of it. When that happens, he'll be the Guo clan's prized son-in-law. Even if Zhou Qiyun wants to seize him, he'll have to weigh the combined might of the Guo and Li clans!*
Suddenly, her foot sank into something soft. Stepping on a person, she hurriedly looked down and was taken aback.
Guo Xiaodie cried out in pain from being trodden on, only to roll over and fall back asleep. Utterly astonished, Li Yingzhu pushed open the window and looked inside. Finding no one in Xu Ying's room, she hurriedly gathered Guo Xiaodie into her arms and rushed away.
Just then, Guo Yue walked over and said with a smile, "I lured that bell and snake to another Jiuyi Mountain. All nine mountains look identical; in the dead of night, they won't be able to tell the difference. Heaven knows when they will ever find their way back here—Madam, why did you carry Xiaodie back?"
Li Yingzhu shook her head. "That lecher refused the soft meal delivered right to his door and jumped out the window to run away."
Guo Yue was filled with newfound respect. "He's quite the tough fellow! But how could he possibly hold back?"
Li Yingzhu sneered, "If it were you, you wouldn't have been able to hold back, would you?"
Guo Yue mumbled timidly, not daring to answer.
Li Yingzhu said, "Since he refuses the soft approach, things get a bit tricky..."
Guo Yue could not help saying, "Madam, why don't we just have Xiaodie take the Sword Control Formula to him tomorrow and ask him to explain it?"
Li Yingzhu sneered, "If it were that simple, why would Old Ancestor Zhou have bothered capturing him? If he doesn't like Xiaodie, could it be he likes..."
Her face suddenly flushed crimson. "How could that be allowed?"
Xiao Fengxian led Xu Ying to the wutong tree atop the mountain. Spiraling upward, they soon reached the crown.
She tapped lightly on the trunk—three long raps and two short. The wutong tree parted to reveal a passage, at the end of which stood a resplendent palace.
Xiao Fengxian walked ahead, with Xu Ying following behind. The palace was not especially large, but it was exquisitely crafted, adorned with multicolored feathers decorating patterned latticework windows in dazzling splendor.
Xiao Fengxian approached a latticed window and pushed gently with both hands. The window opened—carved right into the wutong tree—revealing the nighttime vista of Jiuyi Mountain.
The window faced east, where white light was slowly breaking over the horizon.
Xiao Fengxian said, "Young master has shown great kindness to Xiao Fengxian. A life-saving grace can never be forgotten. I can only..."
She glanced at Xu Ying's appearance, thought his complexion was a bit dark, and continued, "...only repay you by serving you as an ox or a horse in the next life."
Xu Ying laughed and said, "It was merely a small effort, hardly worth mentioning."
To this day, he still did not understand how he had rescued Xiao Fengxian. All he knew was that the heavenly god and heavenly fiend had attacked simultaneously, one coming through the sky and the other across the ground, fierce and aggressive, appearing ready to obliterate the wutong tree and the fledgling phoenix. Yet their bark was worse than their bite; they arrived quickly and left just as swiftly, fleeing into the distance after only a brief clash.
Xiao Fengxian said, "I originally intended to recuperate for a few more days, waiting until my injuries had healed and my cultivation had improved before going to see you to repay your life-saving grace. Little did I expect that a distant glance at you last night would make me change my mind."
Her expression turned solemn, and she said seriously, "Does the young master know that you have been possessed by a heavenly fiend? At present, the fiend has not yet seized your vessel, but in time, it will erode your soul and take over your physical body! This fiend is a visitor from beyond the heavens, stealthy and impossible to guard against. Even top Qi Refiners will fall prey to it if they are the least bit careless!"
Hearing this, Xu Ying couldn't help laughing. "That heavenly fiend was eliminated by Old Ancestor Zhou and Emperor Shengshen long ago. How could it be on me..."
Before he could finish, a sharp pain struck the space between his brows. The shadow behind him wildly branched out in all directions, like pitch-black tentacles creeping across the palace and sticking to the walls!
Boisterous laughter rang out from between Xu Ying's brows. With a slight pull from those shadowy tentacles, Xu Ying floated into the air against his will!
Xu Ying was startled. *I really am possessed?*
The heavenly fiend yelled from between his brows, "Fengxian'er, you and I have no old grudge! Though I intended to kill you, I retreated before I even reached your side! But this brat is different. He destroyed my fleshly body and locked me in the same hall with two top experts, who beat me until ninety percent of my ten-thousand-year cultivation was ruined! If I hadn't miraculously escaped, I would have been wiped out in body and soul!"
With her back to the window, Xiao Fengxian's colorful wings fluttered behind her like miles of morning clouds. She said indifferently, "You and I are natural enemies, locked in an endless struggle till death. Not to mention you have occupied my benefactor's body—do you still expect me to spare your life?"
As she shifted her steps, the heavenly fiend also manipulated Xu Ying's body to move, always facing Xiao Fengxian head-on and giving her no opening to strike.
"Fengxian'er, if you make a move, I will carry him with me to meet your divine ability, and we will perish together!" the heavenly fiend cried. "You wouldn't want your benefactor to die by your own hand like this, would you?"
Xiao Fengxian hesitated. Seeing his chance, the heavenly fiend immediately drove inward with all his might, boring deep between Xu Ying's brows!
He was sinister and cunning, and bore deep grudges. Bent on possessing Xu Ying to exact vengeance, he had taken advantage of the moment Xu Ying jumped into the water vat to attach himself between Xu Ying's brows and burrow beneath his skin to hide.
He knew the bronze bell had constantly guarded Xu Ying's divine soul; as long as the bronze bell was present, there was no chance to consume Xu Ying's soul, so he had bided his time in silence.
Guo Yue had lured away the bronze bell, providing an opportunity, but he failed to make good use of it; seeing Li Yingzhu deliver an unclad Guo Xiaodie, he had indulged a perverse curiosity to test human nature to see what Xu Ying would do, which caused the delay.
He never expected Xiao Fengxian to come looking for Xu Ying, robbing him of the chance to act.
Now he knew the situation was dire. He had to seize Xu Ying's body, devour Xu Ying's soul, and usurp the vessel; only then would he have a chance to fight Xiao Fengxian to the death!
Otherwise, he would definitely be no match for this young phoenix.
Inside Wutong Palace, all the shadowy tentacles clinging to the walls snapped back, whooshing deep into the space between Xu Ying's brows!
Xiao Fengxian's face fell instantly. "Not good!"
She leaped into the air, her form transforming into a colorful phoenix with spread wings. As her wings spun, her body shrank smaller and smaller, hurtling like a beam of light straight toward the space between Xu Ying's brows!
The heavenly fiend laughed boisterously. "Fengxian'er, too late! Once I devour his soul and occupy his vessel, if you dare enter, you'll be courting your own death—huh, what is this thing?"
Just as Xiao Fengxian was about to fly into the tiny aperture between Xu Ying's brows, light surged before her. The radiance grew ever more brilliant, carrying a cataclysmic thrum that made even her tremble with dread!
Decisive and swift, she beat her wings, veered sharply, and flew backward!
Only the heavenly fiend's bloodcurdling shriek came echoing out: "Spare my life! I'll never dare again..."
*Boom!*
From that tiny aperture between Xu Ying's brows, wave upon wave of earth-shattering tremors surged forth. A burst of boundless power erupted, obliterating the heavenly fiend before tearing straight toward Xiao Fengxian!
Revealing her true form, Xiao Fengxian transformed into a seven-colored phoenix and beat her wings, soaring out of Wutong Palace into the open air beyond the tree. Yet the speed of that shockwave far surpassed her flight.
With nowhere to dodge and nowhere to hide, Xiao Fengxian could only spread her wings and raise her feathers, doing everything in her power to resist with all her might!
Jiuyi Mountain and the great wutong tree shook violently. Radiant clouds burst from within the wutong tree, illuminating half the sky and soaring straight into the heavens before finally subsiding moments later.
On another Jiuyi Mountain, Zhou Qiyun looked up at the radiant glow that filled half the sky, thoroughly unsettled. "Another master has arrived at Jiuyi Mountain! I only came to Yongzhou to undergo my tribulation, so why can't things stay quiet? Masters popping up one after another! Could it be that the Heavens have eyes and know I am about to cross my tribulation, so all these masters have converged on Yongzhou to stop me from becoming an immortal?"
His expression hardened with resolve. "Yet why should I, Zhou, fear anyone?"
Outside the main hall of the Cangwu Sect, Emperor Shengshen stepped out and looked toward the glowing clouds atop the mountain, clenching his fists tightly.
"Which master is this again? Could they know Zhen is injured and come to assassinate me? Zhen merely gathered some yang qi to cultivate, yet you refuse to let it rest—*cough, cough, cough!*"
Xu Ying came to his senses and found himself standing by the window, though he had no idea when he had gotten there. Outside, the rising sun was just climbing above the horizon, vast and crimson.
A phoenix with seven-colored wings hovered in the center of the red sun, facing him as though confronting a mortal enemy.
Xu Ying hurriedly raised a hand and touched the space between his brows, finding a speck of black blood.
Both surprised and delighted, he wiped the black blood away and said with a smile, "Has the heavenly fiend possessing me been eliminated? Xiao Fengxian, you truly are remarkable. No wonder the emperor said you are the natural enemy of heavenly gods and heavenly fiends; it really is true. Before I felt a thing, you had already refined the fiend away."
Xiao Fengxian fluttered her wings and flew over, transforming into the petite girl. She hovered outside the window, colorful feathers drifting behind her, and looked at him in disbelief.
"Young master, do you have no recollection of what just happened?" she probed cautiously.
Xu Ying shook his head. "My vision went dark, and I knew nothing after that. When I woke up, I realized the heavenly fiend was gone. Xiao Fengxian, your wondrous skill works miracles—the moment your hand touched down, the fiend was destroyed!"
Xiao Fengxian felt deeply ashamed, and another trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
That terrifying shockwave earlier had left her with no light injuries.
She flew back into Wutong Palace and said, "Young master, your seal seems quite different from mine. Try your best to recall the past first, and let me see what kind of seal it is!"
Xu Ying strove to recall the events before the great fire of Xujiaping, saying, "My family lived in Xujiaping. My father was named Xu Yanping, and my mother was named Cai Zhenzhen. Our home was the third house at the western entrance of the village..."
Seven-colored divine light arose behind Xiao Fengxian, gradually forming a clear mirror that shone upon Xu Ying. Within the mirror, the scene of Xujiaping appeared. At the third house of the village, a peasant farmer shouldered a hoe while holding the hand of a young Xu Ying, while another rough-handed, broad-footed woman sat beside a well washing clothes.
The peasant farmer and the woman raised their heads, looking out of the mirror with strange expressions, as though they could see Xiao Fengxian standing outside it!
Xiao Fengxian's heart gave a violent jolt. The faces of the peasant couple had no features at all—they were completely blank!
"Details! Recall as many details as you can!" Xiao Fengxian cried.
Xu Ying racked his memory, and the recollection grew clearer. Facial features gradually sprouted on the faces of the peasant farmer and the woman, yet the features shifted continuously, never settling into a fixed shape.
Xiao Fengxian's expression turned increasingly grim. Channeling the Seven-Color Divine Mirror, she shouted, "Keep remembering, don't stop! Think carefully—who lived in the house to the east of yours?!"
Within that Seven-Color Divine Mirror, every time the faces of Xu Ying's parents changed, Xu Ying's memory reset once, and the appearance and names of the parents in his memory altered along with it!
Xiao Fengxian had urged him to recall details so she could use exhaustive enumeration to test every detail about Xujiaping in his memory, thereby forcing the true form of the seal to reveal itself!
Xu Ying racked his memory until his head throbbed with mounting pain, murmuring, "My family lived in Xujiaping. My father was named Xu Leping, and my mother was named Fang Jing..."
*Crash!*
The Xujiaping inside the Seven-Color Divine Mirror suddenly collapsed and rapidly reconstructed itself, yet the man and woman standing at the center of the mirror remained motionless. Their faces, eyes, ears, mouths, and noses shifted at breakneck speed, different features combining into different visages.
No matter how their features changed, no matter how their clothes altered, and no matter how the surrounding houses and even the mountains and terrain shifted, the two kept their heads raised, staring fixedly at Xiao Fengxian outside the mirror!
Even though Xiao Fengxian was a mortal phoenix of immense combat strength, seeing this sight sent chills down her spine. A faint pang of regret stirred within her—she shouldn't have waded into these muddy waters.
*Why? Why hasn't it reached the limit of the seal? Why hasn't the seal revealed its true form?!*
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the figures of the man and woman in the image grew larger and larger, appearing closer and closer to the surface of the mirror!
A cold dread welled up from the bottom of Xiao Fengxian's heart. Within the Seven-Color Divine Mirror, the silhouettes of that man and woman had already begun to bleed into the real world, on the verge of invading reality from within the mirror!
Yet the true body of the seal had still not appeared!
"Sever!"
Xiao Fengxian beat her wings and flew backward, suddenly spreading her seven-colored plumage. From where the morning sun was rising in the east, tens of thousands of rosy clouds drifted over, linking with the rainbow radiance of her wings as she slashed toward the Seven-Color Divine Mirror to sever the conduit through which the entities in the mirror were invading the mortal realm!
In an instant, across the nine peaks of Jiuyi Mountain and throughout the hundred thousand mountains, radiant clouds lingered, illuminating every corner of the mountain range!
The glowing clouds snapped back sharply, the Seven-Color Divine Mirror shattered, and Xiao Fengxian spat blood, tumbling out of the sky. Her eyes were glazed, and her heart was in utter turmoil. *What kind of seal is that? Why is it completely different from mine? Just what is his origin...*
Chapter 73